Why did 82% of Employees say they would take a pay cut?

This could be really useful information for employers (and employees too).

In these times of almost full employment (95% of the UK workforce is already working), and with many European workers considering returning to their home country pre & post-Brexit, the latest information about how to attract talent to an organisation could be vital for employers struggling to find the skills they need. And it could be good for employees too - a Win-Win !

So what's the information?

When asked to complete a survey by the UK's largest job board, 82% of employees looking to move to a new role actually said they would take a pay cut provided... it meant landing a job they REALLY wanted. And that of course led to the next very important question...

What is it that makes a Job so attractive they’d want it enough to take a pay cut?

I’m pretty confident many employers would expect applicants for a new job to be most interested in “salary”, “holidays” or a desire to “enjoy the role”. But these were almost bottom of the list.

Way ahead at the top of the list of attractive features was 'a clear route for career progression' mentioned by 73% of employee-respondents.

Surprised? We shouldn’t be.

Career progression has been at or close to the top of this kind of survey for some time. But read on - there's more that may surprise you. Here’s the full list, and note how far ahead the top three are compared with the rest!

1. 73.3% of employees are most attracted by 'a clear route forcareer progression'.

2. 54.4% of workers would be influenced by 'workplace perks and

benefits'.

3. 51.9% felt that 'the job title' was important, with 31.7% stating

they would be more likely to take a role if it had ‘manager’ in

the title.

4. A perhaps surprisingly low 24.4% said that 'enjoying the job' role

itself was essential.

5. And an even lower 22.3% felt 'salary' was most important.

6. Further down the list came ‘location’ with 10.7%, (NB. 53.6%

would said they would not relocate).

7. 'The team' they would work with was even less attractive at 10%.

8. And 'daily responsibilities' of the role came last at 9.9%.

So is there a lesson here for employers wanting to hire new staff or keep the good ones they already have? I think so.

As I said earlier, note how far ahead the top three are compared with the rest. Employers need to think carefully about offering a clear career path for all staff and newcomers, taking care when choosing the job title (especially if it could include the word “manager”), and maximising workplace perks and benefits.